Grant Thornton UK LLP
Location:
Oxford Business Park, OX4
Value:
£400,000
Size:
14,000 sq ft
Duration:
10 weeks
After 25 years of occupancy in an existing building, Grant Thornton decided to relocate in favour of a new development at Oxford Business Park. The move marked a significant change in working environments, from a drab and uninspiring cellular workplace to a bright, white and refreshing open plan environment. Area Sq was appointed at the early stages of the project to carry out a feasibility study to ensure that the new building met Grant Thornton's operational requirements.
James Cornwell, Design Director at Area Sq explains, "A prominent part of the brief was to create extensive breakout and meeting facilities suitable for entertaining clients and staff alike. To this end, we designed a considerable breakout space, adopting splashes of colour to give the scheme an invigorating lift. Additional features, such as a pool table, Nintendo Wii and plasma TVs were also included to enable staff to unwind."
The client's storage requirements was one of the main challenges of the project; this was overcome with the inclusion of an intense roller racking system.
James worked closely with the client steering committee to ensure the new office design was not only consistent with company-wide property standards and branding, but had a unique look and feel. He adds, "The team at Grant Thornton were free-thinking and open to new ideas which made this a project an enjoyable design journey with the client."
Head of Property at Grant Thornton, Stephen Hart, comments, "We enjoyed working with Area Sq on this project and are delighted with our smart new office."
Since the success completion of this project, Area Sq have gone on to complete Grant Thornton’s 11,500 sq ft and 11,000 sq ft offices at Cambridge Science Park and Winnersh Triangle respectively.
